American COP April 2013 Digital Edition

CriTiCal design elemenTs Carriers in federal money being funneled to even the lowest-budget police departments, armor is now the norm, both on the street and the range. Since the beginning of the War on Terror, armor development and production has been pushed to the max. A SWAT team in a rig only during a call-out is much different from military personnel living in armor from sunup Hard armor T wenty years ago it was unusual to see anyone o t h e r t h a n S WAT wearing full-scale armor. Patrol officers often didn’t have Kevlar vests on, and almost no one showed up to training wearing a plate carrier. Things are a bit different now. After 10 years of constant wars and billions to sundown. Even though carriers are still hot, bulky and heavy to a degree, things are getting better as companies continue to chip away at the problems. Lighter materials that breathe better are available, ceramics have replaced steel and now we’re even starting to see some polymer plates. With the vast amount of armor on the market, and the associated drop in prices, we’re Jacob Herman Notice (in this pose right out of a Sears catalog …) Jacob kept the Ronis slick and only used the built-in mag pouches. The rest of his gear was carried on the SOE Warbelt. 28 WWW.AMERICANCOPMAGAZINE.COM • APRIL2013